Start From Scratch
by GriffinRoar777
Summary: AU. Lily buys an old house in the middle of nowhere, intrigued by the secrets in its past. But she doesn't count on the romance that comes with the present...
1. Chapter 1

**Hi folks! I promise this doesn't mean I'm abandoning my other stories. I just got inspired and felt the need to publish this. Hopefully I'll be able to say the same for Of Mysteries and Familiar soon!**

**Disclaimer: If I was JK Rowling, I'd already have made a bid for world domination, so nope, just GriffinRoar777.**

_It was cold. So unbearably cold. The torrential rain soaked her, blurred her vision, so that the cheerful village lights became little more than pinpricks. She didn't give a damn, she realised, laughing suddenly, manically. Didn't give a damn about the rain, the cold, the pretentious people who occupied the village, with their false smiles and Christian charity while behind her back they spoke of the mad young woman with the bastard child in her belly._

_ The second the thought crossed her mind, her hand went protectively to her swollen stomach. Not a bastard, she reminded herself firmly. A baby, her baby, which would never be anything but precious. It was the father who… but never mind. _

_She would do it, she thought determinedly. She'd bring up the baby herself, alone. __Yes, she thought dreamily, tucking her legs under her and staring out to sea, one hand still on her bump, stroking absently. They'd do it, get away, start a new life. A little luck, a little time and they'd be free._

_But first, she had revenge to seek._

Cursing the air blue, Lily hauled the handsome leather recliner out of the back of the moving van, while the beanpole of a driver flicked idly through that morning's Tribute.

"Almost there now." He murmured nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow when she made an obscene gesture in his direction.

"Ya see what it says on the van? Movers, not lifters-of-furniture."

Lily shot him a venomous look.

"And good old fashioned manners are dead huh?" she retorted, cursing even more loudly when the chair tumbled and landed on her foot.

"Well that's the last of it, so get lost."

He held out a palm and made a beckoning motion. Muttering under her breath, she paid him.

"What, no tip?" he asked and she shot him one incredulous look before returning to moving the sparse furniture into the place that would be, (for the next few months anyways) home.

They probably thought she was crazy in the village. Young, free and loaded, buying a house that was beyond saving. But she'd always been stubborn, obstinate even. She was inclined to believe it to be one of her best qualities. And she'd fallen in love when she'd seen it.

Sure, the majority of the roof tiles had fallen off, leaving her protection from the rain little more than prayers and tarpaulin. Yeah, possibly it was infested with mice and maybe rats, but the exterminator would fix that, in time. Ok, all the windows were gone but she knew a guy who could change that. So what if it wasn't exactly liveable? She'd worked with worse. And for the first few weeks she'd be living in the B&B anyways. But first, a tour.

Pushing back the thick ivy curtain that blocked the doorway she grinned. Oh God, there were spiders! And cobwebs! The remains of a teenagers impromptu picnic from bygone years were curled up in the fireplace, obviously someone had tried to burn them. Her stylish furniture that she'd dragged inside looked entirely out of place. It had character, she decided. Yes, that was the word. Delighted, where others would've been horrified, she spun around in a dizzy circle and laughed when she slipped and landed flat on her back on the filthy floor.

A sudden keening wail had her sitting up so quickly her head spun. She'd heard the stories, of course and that made the place seem all the more romantic to her. She imagined it was a baby crying. How hard it must've been, she thought, soberly, not bothering to brush herself down as she headed towards where the sound was coming from, the kitchen.

Wrinkling her nose at the smell of damp, she got down on all fours and crawled towards the cabinet under the sink. The wood was warped but amazingly still held in place nearly a hundred years later. The wail was louder now. It never occurred to Lily to be afraid or to be careful. After all, she imagined the sound to be coming from the house, echoing the cries of the last form of life that occupied it. Yanking the door open, she fell backwards and stared in shock at the tawny coloured bundle of fur that stared right back. A puppy, she thought dazedly as the small creature cowered in the corner of the mould covered press. Shock turned to anger. Who would shut a tiny defenceless puppy up in a press to die?

"Hi, honey."

She held out a hand for inspection and the young dog sniffed it warily before edging itself out of the tight space. Careful not to startle it she stood up and beamed when it scrambled after her. Stooping, she held out her hands and sighed with what she thought was the beginnings of love when it allowed her to scoop it up. One quick glance into the trusting brown eyes and she knew she was way past beginnings.

"C'mon baby." She cooed, already wildly in love.

"Let's get you sorted, yeah?"

Narrowing her eyes at the seemingly far off rain clouds, she looked at her bike and at the puppy that was already asleep against her chest. In a fit of sudden inspiration, she yanked on a windcheater over her dungarees and tucked the puppy inside, smiling sappily as she felt its quivering heartbeat against her chest.

Peddling slowly down the hill was difficult enough but the rest of the journey went fairly smoothly. Just as she pulled up in the village however, a bright red sports car pulled up, a tall curvy blond stepping out smugly. Sending one pitying glance at Lily, she sauntered into the small café on the corner. Shrugging it off, Lily cradled the small bump against her stomach and stepped into the village shop.

She was immediately engulfed by the smells of industrial cleaner and freshly brewed coffee which actually smelt pretty good. A bored looking youth, flicking through a comic glanced up disinterestedly at the tinkling of the shop bell and flushed when he saw Lily, shoving the comic to one side. He couldn't be more than fourteen, Lily guessed.

"Can I help you?" He'd deepened his voice and rubbed a hand to the back of his neck when she smiled up at him.

"Avengers, right? Black Widow is definitely my favourite, though I am partial to Captain America."

He goggled while she shifted through the cans of dog food, frowning at the labels.

"D'you have anything for puppies?"

At that precise moment her new found friend poked their handsome head out of the top of her jacket, yawning cutely. The boy's eyes widened as Lily unzipped the jacket, tucking both under her arm.

"Uh, let me check in the back."

Grinning, Lily ruffled the puppy's fur and added a small toy, bed, collar, leash and shampoo to her shopping. As a last second impulse, she grabbed a bag of sherbet lemons to the growing pile.

"It's a sickness." She sighed, shaking her head when he just stared at her.

"What's the damage?"

"Um…thirty three fifty. I err… haven't seen you around before." He said in an attempt at being casual.

Handing over the cash and dragging the bag off the counter she shot him a warm smile.

"I'm new. I'm the weirdo who's redoing the old Chysler place. Mad, I know." Shrugging cheerfully, she gave him a small wave and exited the shop humming. Mounting her bike and donning her windcheater once more, she tucked the small wriggling bundle inside to shelter it from the oncoming rain as much as for convenience sakes.

Peddling at a fairly rapid pace, eager to get to the B&B before getting drenched, she didn't see the pickup truck come zooming around the corner. It, or rather, its driver saw her however. Slamming on the breaks with a squeal so startling, Lily toppled over, the truck stopped and the furious driver leapt out.

"What the HELL were you doing?" he yelled, striding over and glaring at her. Rubbing her aching head, Lily peered blearily up into a second pair of stunning brown eyes. Well, they were more hazel than brown, but she wasn't being picky.

"I'm fine thanks." She murmured dizzily, putting a hand to her stomach where the puppy quivered, terrified. She saw his gaze dart to her swollen abdomen and watched him jump to the entirely wrong conclusion.

"I didn't know you were-"Letting loose a string of curses that rivalled her own earlier demonstration, she smiled. He was really good looking, she decided. Tall and lanky with messy black hair that stuck up at every possible angle and the most meltingly gorgeous bespectacled hazel eyes, he was a definite looker.

"S'all right. No damage done." Accepting the hand he offered to help her up, she ran a quick hand through her hair, more out of vanity than anything else.

"Shush." She said comfortingly, stroking her stomach and bending to pick up her bike, she peered at him again from under a curtain of hair. Oh yeah, he was a real looker.

"Lily Evans. Crazy old bat who's taking on the Chysler place. Pleasure to not-quite-be-run over by you."

Shooting her a bewildered stare he shook it.

"James Potter. Mrs Daniels never said you were-"

"Clumsy? Accident prone? It's a curse, one I will no doubt pass on to my offspring as my father did to me. But it is one we Evanses faithfully bare. Who's Mrs Daniels?"

"The landlady of the B&B."

Clapping her hands delightedly, she shot him a blinding smile.

"You're a local! Oh brilliant, can you show me how to get to the B&B? I have a vague idea that it's around here somewhere." She waved vaguely with her right hand at anywhere within a twenty mile radius of the village, smiling sunnily as she did so.

"But I'm not entirely sure where."

Sighing heavily, as if about to commit an act that he feared he would come to regret he opened the door of his truck.

"I'll drive you there." Shrugging, she picked up the small shopping bag that held almost all her worldly goods.

"That's not necessary, but I appreciate the offer."

As soon as she said it she realised that it was very rarely someone said no to James Potter, if they had ever done so.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's going to rain and you're all-" Seemingly lacking in words, he made a frustrated gesture towards her middle. Raising a cool eyebrow, she allowed her almost constant smile to desert her face.

"I assure you I am more than capable of getting there myself." Turning away from him sharply, she tried to mount her bike again, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her backwards, almost causing her to fall again.

"Let go of me!" she snapped, outraged. Ignoring her, he picked up her bike and threw it into the back of the truck, hauling her inside and strapping her in. Once again, terror didn't occur to her, despite the fact that he was both taller and stronger than she was. The second he sat into the car she slapped him hard enough to make his ears ring.

"Let me make this abundantly clear. I do not appreciate being manhandled and I will do whatever I choose. Comprendé?"

Instead of responding, he gunned the engine and took off at such a speed that she didn't dare trying to jump, especially because of the bundle of fur concealed by thin layer of plastic but also because he had her only method of transportation until she deemed it necessary to grow up and buy a car and all the responsibilities that went with it. It was a miracle, she thought when they squealed to a halt outside a handsome two storey cottage, that they had stopped at all. Ever the gentleman, she thought sourly when he got out and held the door open for her. Shooting him her most withering glance (generally reserved for tax collectors and her cousin Edmund) she swept past him and in through the door, thinking perhaps her stay here may not be as pleasant as she'd hoped.

She heard the click of the door behind her and assumed he'd followed her in. Sticking her nose high in the air, she called out,

"Mrs Daniels? Are you here?"

Seconds later she was engulfed by a round middle aged woman, the kind that reminded you inevitably of a family member you had a distinct fondness for. For Lily, it was her maternal great aunt, Gladys.

"My dear! I'm so glad to finally meet you! Thin as pin, but we'll soon fix that, won't we Jamie?"

Frowning, Lily turned to look at the tall man, who was smiling. The first time she'd seen him do so during their incredibly brief acquaintance.

"You'll be rolling her out of here Mrs Daniels, as always. And she'll roll right back in." Eying her with a mixture of what seemed like contempt and interest, he continued:

"They always do."

A sudden yip made them all jump.

"What was that?" James asked, both alarmed and curious. Lily felt a certain level of smugness when he watched her withdraw the puppy from under her jacket with both shock and anger? Amusement?

"I hope you don't mind. I just couldn't leave him. Someone had shut him up in a cupboard, imagine!"

"Imagine." James growled and swept from the room, leaving her smirking behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Queenie Greengrass: Thanks! So glad you're enjoying all my stories, it's a great morale booster that someone likes all my work!**

**Disclaimer: If only it were that simple. Sorry guys, not JK Rowling.**

James Potter scowled darkly all the way back into the village. Nobody had ever laid a hand on him in his life. And it really hurt. It hurt more thinking he hadn't been socked in a bar room brawl or defending some pretty girl's honour, but by a five foot nothing, definitely- not- pregnant, red head with temperament issues and who obviously had something against chivalry. It would probably leave a mark, he thought annoyed, surveying the fading red slap mark in his wing mirror.

What kind of idiot cycles around with a puppy under her jacket in the rain anyway? The kind who buys Chysler house, he thought scoffing. That place had been abandoned since… forever. Of course, lots of people believed it to be haunted and as someone who had spent an entire night there aged twelve and three quarters, he completely agreed with them. Even Sirius, his best mate and the least "spiritually aware" as his mother would say, person he knew, admitted there was something… other in that building.

The legend said a woman who had lived in the village had fallen in love with a wealthy man living in a nearby manor (which was now a hotel). The fact that he was engaged meant nothing to either of them and they had an affair. An affair that had resulted in a child. The second the git had found out, he'd dumped her. A few weeks later, they'd found the body of the woman at the base of the cliffs. It was assumed she'd jumped. Her baby was found alive, in a nearby cottage and was put in an orphanage. That was all anyone seemed to know. But that had been like, more than two hundred years ago. He sighed and made the turn for the village.

He imagined little had changed over two centuries in Godrics Hollow. The town was small and insular. No doubt everyone already knew about the Chysler house being bought and were speculating as to who could have been so foolish as to do so. After all, there had been others, but the ghost had scared them off or halted progress so much, they just gave it up.

James parked up outside the sole restaurant in the village, owned and run by his best mate Sirius. Sirius had often said growing up, that he was only interested in owning a restaurant because it meant he could feed himself at any time of the day or night with whatever he wanted. James, for his part, had often teased Sirius for his complete dedication to learning to cook, calling him a nancy, but even he had to admit Sirius made one hell of a Death By Chocolate.

"Where have you been?" The accusing voice was loud enough to make the other diners look up, interested. James winced and pasted a fake smile on his face. Marlene, Sirius girlfriend and assistant pastry chef smiled sympathetically at him

"Hey Jade. I was just giving someone a lift to the B&B. Y'know, my Good Samaritan deed for the day." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly when she glared him. The woman scared him witless. She still thought they were together and he was too afraid to contradict her.

"Hmph. Well do it on your own time. I'm not going to hang around waiting for you forever you. I have to go. I have an urgent appointment." She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she pushed past him in the disdainful way only she could manage. As far as James knew, the only appointments Jade ever had were nail ones, but she'd rather die than let this go. He'd have to apologise, likely using something expensive, if he were to take over the Keener versus Pan Case. Brilliant.

Defeated, James slumped on a stool by the counter and Marlene shoved a smoothie at him. He sighed.

"Remember when I went out with Jade? Yeah, what was I thinking?" He asked Marlene who smiled and ruffled his hair.

"You were young, stupid and blinded by pretty." She told him sweetly, wrapping up a bag of cookies and handing it to a customer at the till.

"And that is the sorry truth. I tried to warn you." Sirius came out of the kitchen, clutching an enormous chocolate cake and covered in flour. Every woman's dream.

"You and Moony should've staged an intervention, kidnapped and tortured me until I gave in." James reprimanded him, sucking sullenly on a twisty straw, oblivious as Sirius of all the stares from all the females in the room, from fourteen up. Marlene, not quite as oblivious, blew up a plastic bag and popped it. Loudly.

"It was considered, but we were unable to find somewhere to stash you. That and we figured Mom would send spirits after us until we returned you." Sirius dusted the cake nonchalantly with icing sugar while he spoke.

"Ridiculous. You're her favourite. She'd probably let you keep me. No, she'd probably pay you to keep me." James amended, resting his face on his fist, despondently. He sighed and sucked harder on the straw.

"This is what I get for being nice. Slapped across the face and given the cold shoulder."

Marlene, leaned in, interested.

"Who slapped you across the face?" She asked. James scowled.

"A pregnant midget with clearly no idea of road safety regulations." He snapped.

"You ran over a pregnant woman?" Sirius barked, a little too loudly.

"She wasn't actually pregnant, I just thought she was. Mad as a hatter." Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"So you ran over someone you thought was pregnant, but actually wasn't? Sounds like she's not the only mad one around here…"

"She had a puppy tucked under her windcheater, which looked like a bump and she was the one who cycled out into my way!" He replied, hotly, wishing _someone_ would take his side.

"So why'd she slap you?" Marlene asked shrewdly. James went a rather brilliant shade of red.

"I may have insisted on driving her to the B&B, despite her refusals-"Sirius groaned.

"Y'know, growing up, people always said, _you'd_ be the one to bail_ me_ out of jail, but your severely messed up sense of chivalry is going to lead to you being locked up, you know that? Then I'll have to bail you out of jail and while I'd rather like to prove everyone wrong, you can't go around accosting women James-"

"I did not _accost_ her and she was more than capable of defending herself as you can clearly see-"

"It doesn't make a difference! No means no and I for one-"

"BOYS!" Marlene yelled, causing the unfortunate diners to turn around in their seats to see what else could be unfolding this evening, as it appeared they paid for dinner _and_ a show.

"In the kitchen." She said through gritted teeth and a rather fake smile. Both men followed her meekly.

"Remus should be canonised a saint for putting up with you too so long." Marlene sighed once she removed all sharp objects from arms reach.

"Remus found our verbal sparring, as he called it, amusing. Except when we started throwing things." Sirius added, as an afterthought. Marlene glared at him, before continuing.

"James, when a woman refuses help, it's generally because she doesn't want it. Sirius, James may be an idiot-"

"I OBJECT! FAVOURITISIM!" James barked, accusingly. Sirius smiled smugly.

"Overruled. Come back to me when you have a girlfriend Potter." Marlene told him, kissing Sirius lightly on the cheek. After several minutes of silence, Marlene asked;

"So what was she like, the girl who hit you?"

James blinked and raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" He asked, pushing his glasses down his nose, incredulously.

"What did she look like?" Marlene repeated, sharply.

"So the woman savagely beats me and exploits my kind and generous nature, and you want to know what she looks like? "

"In fairness, she had reason-"

"For the last time Sirius, I did not kidnap anyone-"

Marlene clipped them simultaneously around the head.

"Next time I tell your mother." She warned, darkly, when they protested. They fell silent immediately.

"Now James-"Marlene began

"She was pretty, alright? Is that what you wanted to hear? I admit it! Jesus Marls, the Gestapo were teddy bears compared to you!" James exploded, storming out angrily, cheeks flushed.

"Hmmm…" Marlene muttered, stroking her chin, thoughtfully. Sirius cocked his head to one side, rather like a dog, considering her.

"That's your plotting look." He noticed and she nodded, still staring at the door James had vacated.

"What're you thinking?" He asked, slipping a floury arm around her waist. Marlene smiled deviously.

"I'm thinking we should try and find out more about this girl. Maybe invite her 'round…" Sirius grinned and kissed her.

"So, we're meddling with James' love life again, huh? Sounds like fun. I'm in."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, before anyone who sees this comes after me with flaming torches and pitchforks, I do have an excuse as to why I haven't updated in…well…a ****very**** long time. I suffer from a condition called lazyitosis. Scientists have yet to find a cure for this dreadful malady, but they have made links between it and cantbebotheredlysis and couchpotatonoma. So please, dear reader, spare a thought for all of us sufferers of these terrible illnesses as you sharpen your pitchforks and light your torches. **

**Disclaimer: If I was JK Rowling… well I'm not. So I don't own anything. At all.**

* * *

Much to Lily's delight, Mrs Daniels transpired to be a great dog lover and was just as quickly besotted with her new friend as she had been.

"He's just gorgeous." She exclaimed when he scrambled down out of Lily's arms and sniffed hopefully at the older woman's feet. The touching moment was ruined somewhat by the squeal of tyres as the irate James Potter drove away. Lily pulled a face that made Mrs Daniels chuckle.

"Oh dear, did you and Jamie not like each other?" She inquired, leading Lily into the lounge where a pot of steaming tea sat on a low table accompanied by a large plate of fresh pastries. Lily waited until she had inhaled four mini treacle tarts and two doughnuts before answering an amused looking Mrs Daniels.

"He kidnapped me. Well, he ran over me first. Then he stole my bike." Lily swallowed hard and almost choked on a rather large piece of tart.

"Other than that, he seemed like a great bloke." She shrugged and poured herself a large cup of tea, adding two spoons of sugar and stirring vigorously. Mrs Daniels sucked hard on her teeth and sighed as she lowered herself into one of the overstuffed and ridiculously comfortable chairs that were scattered throughout the sizable room.

Now that Lily was sure she wasn't about to collapse from hunger, she took a moment to observe the house she'd be staying in until she had a room ready in the Chysler place. It was decorated in a dated kind of way, with a carpet that screamed a sixties garage sale, heavy oak furniture, large double glazed windows and from what little she could see of the walls, they were covered in pale blue wall paper. Now however, dozens and dozens of photographs took up almost all of the wall space. Upon closer inspection, Lily realized that the majority of the photographs were of famous people, politicians, athletes, singers, actors… chances were that if they were prominent in the last twenty years, they were on the walls, grinning enthusiastically, one arm wrapped around a portly middle aged man with a mustache that somehow gave him a walrus like appearance.

"That's my son, Horace Slughorn." Mrs Daniels said proudly, following Lily's fascinated gaze. She stood up and peered at a few of them.

"He's a teacher. He's amazing at picking out talented children, or up and comers. He gives them a bit of a leg up and they don't forget that, as you can see." She gave a little chuckle and led Lily down the length of the room, pointed at a picture that looked like it had been taken only a few years ago. It was of four boys with their arms around each other, laughing their heads off, while Horace Slughorn looked down at them fondly. Lily recognized Remus Lupin, one of the top neurosurgeons in the country and Peter Pettigrew, a famous artist. The other two boys in the middle looked kind of similar, one of them was clearly James Potter, the other she didn't know.

"James is a good boy. A little strong willed, perhaps-"Mrs Daniels shrugged as if kidnap was nothing to make a fuss over, much to Lily's indignation.

"-but a good boy. His friend there? That's Sirius Black, of the Kensington Blacks. He's in the process of setting up a chain of restaurants. Those pastries you had are his handiwork." Lily frowned. She didn't pay a huge amount of attention to high society news, but she was fairly certain the Kensington Blacks were all into politics or large scale corporate businesses. There were whispers that they had connections to several of England's biggest crime lords. She did, however, vaguely recall a piece about one of the Blacks running away and disappearing a few years ago. Or at least, that's what the Black clan claimed. This boy, who couldn't be any older than fifteen, certainly possessed the good looks that all Blacks were blessed with, if nothing else. Not to mention, his pastries were absolutely magnificent.

To Black's immediate right, James Potter looked crookedly at the camera, making no attempt to stifle his laughter at some long forgotten joke. He too, seemed to be around fifteen. He looked so much better when he was happy, Lily thought, smiling a little herself. Something she wouldn't have deemed possible upon first clapping her eyes on him.

Now though, she thought, wiping the smile from her face, she had the benefit of speaking to him, she had confirmed what she already knew, looks weren't everything. But Mrs Daniels was obviously very fond of the cretin, so she decided to change the subject, before she ended up offending her.

"If you're Daniels, how come your son is Slughorn?" She asked lightly. Mrs Daniels, she could see, wasn't fooled, but answered her regardless.

"Well Horace was my son from my first marriage. I changed my name when I married Mr Daniels twenty years ago. Buried him seventeen years later. Hit by a Frisbee, if you can imagine it. Of course, in hindsight, it was probably running out onto the road to get it and being squished by a bus that killed him. He was the unluckiest man I ever knew." She shook her head fondly and picked up the tea tray to carry it into the kitchen.

"You might want to take the rest of the evening to explore the town. It's a nice little place, if I do say so myself. Mind you, nobody gets any privacy round these parts. You'll find yourself a very popular topic of conversation." Mrs Daniels smiled when she made a disbelieving noise.

"An outsider sweeping in and buying the old haunted cottage that's been abandoned since before my grandfather was born? Of course the local gossips will pick you apart. They'll have your family history before you've had time to blink." Mrs Daniels was already in the kitchen, elbow deep in washing up, so she failed to see the way the colour drained from Lily's face at her last statement.

Her family history? Good luck to anyone who tried to find out anything, she thought bitterly. As far as her sister was concerned, she had no family. No, Lily definitely didn't figure with Perfect Petunia and her well off husband or her darling little son. Lily's brother in law and nephew, who she'd never met. Petunia had made that abundantly clear that she never would meet them, either. Lily clenched her fists. She would not let Petunia get to her again. The last time she did… She glanced down at the small scar on her right hand. She'd always had a vicious temper, but seldom did she commit an act of violence. All she knew was she'd seen red and wanted to draw blood. Too bad she'd drawn more of her own than anyone else's.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she mooched out of the house and let loose a long string of colourful swear words when she saw her precious bike, dumped like a pile of scrap metal in the driveway. Merlin help James Potter if she ever laid eyes on him again. It'd take more than four portly uncles and Great Aunt Susie to yank her off _him_.

She'd made it about three meters down the road when she remembered the puppy. She couldn't leave the little guy at the B&B. He might get lonely. Besides, maybe she could train him to bite Potter. She grinned to herself as she jiggled the little guy so he fit comfortably against her chest and where he could poke his head out if he wanted. She didn't want another James Potter incident.

She peddled leisurely into town, taking time to admire the pretty little square and the neat, pastel coloured shop fronts. She hadn't paid much attention before, but now that she took the time to look around, it was all so… quaint, she decided. Like it had been this way for two hundred years and would be for two hundred more. In fact, it was almost adorable, she thought, until she rounded the corner.

Right in between what appeared to be a haberdashery and a butchers, it sat, bold and modern looking, almost like it had dropped out of some stylish suburb in the sky. Written over the door, in elegant italic cursive were the words "Black Magic". The paint was silver, almost glowing in the pale evening light and the tinted windows gave it a glamorous look. It was the kind of place, Lily thought, that bohemians would rub shoulders with A list celebrities. She was neither, but she pushed open the door anyway. The last thing she remembered thinking was that something smelled absolutely gorgeous before the flying sack of flour smacked her in the face.


End file.
